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1999 Marin Nail Trail
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Posted by Mark on March 03, 2006 under 'Bikes'.
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I needed to get off my fully rigid £180 Free Spirit Kielder and onto something with a modicum of "MTB" about it. Fortunately, a deal was struck with a mate of Dave's who hadn't really done much with his bike and I ended up with this near unused Nail Trail at a bargain price.
I needed to get off my fully rigid £180 Free Spirit Kielder and onto something with a modicum of "MTB" about it. Fortunately, a deal was struck with a mate of Dave's who hadn't really done much with his bike and I ended up with this near unused Nail Trail at a bargain price.
For those of you who remember the '99 model you may recall that it came with a 'state of the art' Diatech cable front disc brake. Shame it didn't work (they never did), a fact I conclusively proved by disappearing through a hedge backwards at terminal velocity.
Having judiciously invested a hundred and fifty quid I now have a fully hydraulic brake set up and the bike still represents a huge saving on a new one. The only other upgrades have been a WTB Speed comp saddle which has been great from day one and a pair of Yeti grips.
Upgrading the rear brake needed a new wheel and hub plus a disc brake adaptor from supercycles (www.supercycles.co.uk), which has worked really well as the alu frame affords plenty of space to attach the adaptor (see pic). I'm using the 2003 spec Julie brakes with alloy levers and they seem to work just fine.
This bike has a solid frame and a commanding riding position with the wide riser bars fitted by its' previous owner. Sooner or later the running gear will need replacing but probably the obvious upgrade would be the forks.
In the meantime, I'm pleased with it as it is and have become very attached to the blue stem!
| Component | Spec | Component | Spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frame | 1999 Marin Nail Trail | Headset | Ritchey Logic |
| Forks | RST Mozo Pro | Bars | Azonic 2" riser |
| Front mech | STX | Stem | Marin 120mm (er, very blue!) |
| Rear mech | STX-RC | Seatpost | Marin |
| Shifters | STX | Saddle | WTB Speed Comp |
| Front brake | Magura Julie 2003 | Pedals | Time ATAC |
| Rear brake | Magura Julie 2003 | Rims | Ritchey front; Mavic 221 rear |
| Chain | n/a | Hubs | Diatech (front) Deore (rear) |
| Cassette | Shimano 8 speed | Tyres | Continental Vertical 2.3 |
| Chainset | STX-RC |
If you would like to link to this post, please use the following url: http://www.muddymoles.org.uk/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/82
Further reading
You might also find the following interesting (includes further reading from the Muddymoles and third parties)
Mountain Bikes - What we are riding from Muddymoles.
A quick round up of the Mountain Bikes that have found favour with us recently. A broad and eclectic bunch, especially if you like bikes from the Calderdale Valley.
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